manasi Joshi Wood burning

In 6th grade I painted a seascape on paper for the school-wide (5th to 10 grade category) painting competition held in my hometown in India. It was a total surprise for me that I won an award, third place for that Category.​When it was time to make a choice about which profession I wanted to choose for myself, my only answer was, “whichever profession that lets me draw”. This took me to Architecture college.

Life was pretty normal there onward -I graduated in 2000 -took up a job – got married. And then in 2003, I came to the USA and to a whole new and a very different world.

I like to imagine my life as a ship sailing in the sea. My ship was sailing smoothly till now, but then I lost control of this ship. I had to let it take me wherever it wanted. My plans were to pursue my career in Architecture by doing Masters, but my ship had other plans for me. I lost touch with Architecture. Around the same time my daughter came into this world and the focus of my life changed.

Around 2010, my daughter and I visited India. My daughter was recovering from Swine Flu. She and I, we both needed the comfort of my family. This is where my love affair with Art started when I was introduced to Henna.

Back in the USA, I started doing Henna on the side while working full time -odd jobs. Soon I added Face Painting to my repertoire. I kept myself busy by offering these services at local festivals and fairs.

During one such festival in fall 2015, I happened to talk to a fellow vendor who was into woodworking. He saw the picture of Henna applied on wood, a project I had worked on out of curiosity. He asked me if it was Wood Burning, not knowing it was Henna. Later that day I googled Wood Burning aka Pyrography and that was a ‘Light bulb’ moment!I already had a basic Wood burning tool that I had bought for a stenciling project. I tried out my first wood burning project…and haven’t looked back since! Later that December, I quit my 8-5 job and became a full time Artist…best decision ever!

You’ll find a heavy influence of Henna in my Pyrography projects. I love to make these 2-dimensional Henna-style designs into 3D. I tried out my first portrait in 2016. I struggled to burn the eyes on that portrait. But now, they are my favorite thing to burn! I have since burned various subjects like wildlife and landscapes.

All of my work is done by hand, which you can experience firsthand during the tour. I take commissions to create exquisite, customized and/or personalized gift items.

Contact

​Classes Offered?

​I don’t offer classes at the moment.I may if there is enough interest.

Before and After the Tour

To purchase art please visit my website, email or call me.

During the Tour:

​​I will be demonstrating Pyrography on wood and answer questions.Enjoy Violin performance by Michelle (age 10) and her Teacher.My daughter Maitrie (age 10) will also be playing her Ukulele!There will be Art for sale.Commissions discussed.